Types of Persian Tiles

Persian Tiles is an Iranian art that reached its peak with the arrival of Islam in the land of the Persians and the creation of the Iranian-Islamic architectural style.  Tiling is hard and tedious, but it is an art whose amazing results are manifested in various types of mosaics, seven colors, Moqali and Mogharnas.

Tiling is the fifth most basic method in decorating a building, which is still one of the most beautiful and, of course, the most expensive decorations.  The art of tiling in Iran reached its peak with the advent of Islam, Iranian architecture that was implemented in Islamic places without tiling would certainly not have been saved.

The beauty of many places in Iran and the world is due to the decoration of Persian Tiles, a combination of clay, Persian Gemstone, and other materials that are made, baked, and glazed in six stages to show a spectacular design and role.  There are different types of tiles, each of which has its own beauty and appearance. In the following, we will introduce some of the most famous types of tiles:

Mosaic tiling

The most beautiful and difficult tile model is the mosaic, which can be performed only by great masters.  In this type of tiling, different pieces of Persian Tiles are cut and worked together to create a so-called beautiful fabric of the tile.  Tile mosaic work became popular from the fourth century AH during the Seljuk rule and reached perfection in the eighth century.  In this century, different sections and shapes of Persian Tiles became smaller and artistic designs were created.

Mosaic tile is done in several steps, first, the master draws the desired design and paints it carefully.  The design is then numbered and segmented, after which the designs are arranged on paper and sorted by color.  The cut paper is glued to the tile with the desired color using my hair.

Once the glued paper is completely dry, they start cutting the tile pieces with an ax, which is called “lipstick”.  After cutting and polishing the Persian Tiles, it is time to put them together according to the numbering of the tile pieces.  Finally, mortar and tile installation will be done on the desired location.  This model of tiling requires very high precision and requires a lot of effort.

Mosaic tiling has been used in many landmarks, the Safavids were also very interested in this model of tiling and this decoration reached its peak during this period.  Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Abbasi Mosque, Abbasi Caravanserai, Kaboud Mosque in Tabriz, and parts of Niavaran Palace are among the buildings where the highest example of mosaic tiles can be seen.